Zimbabwe hit by basic commodities price hikes

Basic commodities in Zimbabwe have reportedly spiked since the beginning of the year with the latest Buy Zimbabwe campaign adding to the woes of the average consumer.

The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) has said in its latest monthly family basket report that several goods had their prices increased.

It noted that in January the cost of living stood at $557,58 for a family of six and jumped to $560,10 in February.

In March the figure rose to $561,06 and increased further to $563,82 in April before settling at $567,48 in May.

For the month of June (last month) the figure stood at $567,38, recording a $0,10 decrease.

"The price of the total basket for June 2016 only decreased by $0,10 as compared to that of May 2016. As CCZ we assume that it is caused by the current cash shortage that consumers are not willing to spend and retailers are still studying the market by not increasing the prices," said CCZ.

"Increase in prices was recorded in margarine by $0,04 from $0,85 to $0,89, cooking oil (750ml) by $0,05 from $1,35 to $1,40, washing powder by $0,16 from $1,09 to $1,25 and laundry bar by $0,20 from $0,79 to $0,99.

"The total cost of the food basket and the price of each commodity are arrived at by averaging prices gathered from retail outlets throughout the country. The basket is a fairly accurate depiction of the cost of living in urban Zimbabwe."

The consumer watchdog said the price of mealie-meal, sugar, tea leaves, milk, bread, flour, rice, tomatoes and meat had remained unchanged from the end May 2016 figures.

CCZ conducts the monthly food basket surveys twice monthly; during the first and last weeks of every month.